Open Data Challenge Hackathon

We want to make our community an even better place.

To help make that possible, Open Data Delaware, the Government Information Center, and the Technology Forum of Delaware have worked together to design a series of workshops and events to help solve community issues and cultivate civic technology skills. The events include a series of 6 workshops curated by Open Data Delaware, the Tech Forum of Delaware’s Idea Challenge, and the Open Data Challenge Hackathon in June.

The workshops are all scheduled. (Check here to see what we've done).

The Idea Challenge has been completed.

All that's left is this.  The Open Data Challenge Hackathon. It's going to be amazing.

The Open Data Challenge Hackathon.

This weekend-long hackathon is based around a simple idea: Access to Hope through Innovation.  From this idea, our nonprofit partners - The Food Bank of Delaware and Network Delaware - will present challenges that our teams will solve.  Look out for more details on those challenges as we get closer to the event.

Teams will compete to prototype solutions to the provided challenges. 2 teams will be selected as the winners (1st and 2nd place, respectively) and awarded a grant to help them finish their ideas over time to produce something useable for our entire community.

• 1st Place Grant: $12,500
• 2nd Place Grant: $5,000

Teams will have the opportunity to self-form on the day of the event and will consist of approximately 5 people.  A great team will be well balanced, consisting of coders, designers, members of the community, and any other needed skill set.  We encourage people to work with a group of people that they may not have in the past.

So how will this all work?

This is a weekend-long event starting on Friday June 2nd and ending on Sunday June 4th.  Take a look below for (roughly) how the weekend will work.  We'll provide a more detailed schedule as we draw closer to the weekend of the event.

Friday evening (6:30 pm - 10:00 pm):

• Networking
• Challenge Pitches
• Team Formation
• Ideation
• Initial Work

Saturday:

• Work Day
• Nap, maybe

Sunday:

• Wrap up Work
• Project Submission
• Presentations, Judging, and Awards

What are the Rules and Regulations?

Participation in the 2017 Open Data Delaware Challenge Weekend constitutes your acceptance of these official rules. Grantees agree to comply with the rules herein. Delaware Open Data Challenge is an event partnership between Open Data Delaware, Delaware Technology Forum, Tech Impact, and the Delaware Department of State.

Timing

• The Delaware Open Data Challenge weekend is Friday, June 2, 2017 thru Sunday, June 4, 2017.  
• Participants must submit their entry by Sunday, June 4, 2017, at 3:00 PM EST.
• During Challenge Weekend, at least one team member must be present at each of the designated check-in times during the weekend as follows: Friday, June 2 2017, from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST; Saturday, June 3 2017, from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST; and Sunday, June 4, 2017, from 2:00 PM EST until the event ends.
• Winners will be announced on Sunday June 4, 2017 after 4:00 PM EST

Judging

• A panel of qualified judges, selected by the Government Information Center/Department of State, Open Data Delaware, and the Delaware Technology Forum (“Judges”) will review all submissions at the end of the Challenge Weekend and, based on the judging criteria, will choose the top two teams. Judges, in their sole discretion, will select the winners of the 2017 Open Data Challenge Weekend based on the judging criteria.

Technical Application

• All apps created for the Delaware Open Data Challenge must be newly written. “Newly written” means that the application was not a minimally viable product or completed product and was not commercially available or publicly accessible before March 15, 2017. You may use source code, sample code, libraries, SDKs, and APIs that were publicly available before March 15, 2017.
• Participants must build a computer application that addresses the civic or business challenge.
• Participants must use at least one dataset that is publicly available on the Delaware Open Data portal, data.delaware.gov.
• Participants may use private data as well in addition to at least one public dataset.
• Each team must submit the code for their application to a repository on Open Data Delaware’s GitHub by 3:00 PM EST on Sunday, June 4, 2017. This submission is considered your technical application. The submission must include all source code of the application including CSS. The code will be reviewed for technical merit as part of the final judging criteria.

Individual Eligibility 

• You may only compete if:
  • You are an individual legally residing in one of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia or.
  • You are a corporation, LLC, or other organization that is domiciled in the United States and properly formed at the time of entry.
• You are fourteen years old or older. If you are under eighteen years old, you must identify yourself as a minor and provide proof of parental consent.
• An individual may only be a part of one team participating in the Challenge.
• You must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest you have with: (a) employees or contractors of the Delaware Department of State; (b) the State of Delaware; (c) competition Judges, their immediate families (spouse, parents and stepparents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and step-children), and household members (people who share the same residence at least three months out of the year); 

Team Eligibility 

• All individuals as part of the team must meet the individual eligibility criteria.  
• A team must consist of at least two people.  
• Each team will submit a list of individuals on the team by 3:00 PM EST on Sunday, June 4, 2017.  
• Teams will present their idea and prototype to the audience and judging panel on June 4, 2017 after 3:00 PM EST. Teams will submit their technical application to Open Data Delaware’s GitHub on or before June 4, 2017 at 3:00 PM EST.

Team Grant Fellowship Award

• Winning teams will be awarded a fellowship grant, contingent upon successfully meeting the milestone criteria.  
• Winning teams will be awarded fellowship grants in two stages, based on meeting milestone criteria. Grants will be disbursed by Tech Impact, the fiscal sponsor, to individuals on winning teams.  
  • 1st Grant Award: within one month of the Open Data Challenge weekend. 1/2 of the total grant award will be disbursed.  
  • Final Grant Award: upon successful completion of the final milestone criteria, determined by the Delaware Open Data Challenge Criteria Review Group. The final 1/2 of the total grant award will be disbursed.  
• The receipt of the Final Grant Award is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth by Open Data Delaware Challenge, the Delaware Department of State, and the State of Delaware, including but not limited to, acceptance of its Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, waivers, and Services Agreement with the State of Delaware, if applicable.
• Winning teams will be awarded fellowship grants individually, based on a percentage share. For example, if your team has 5 members and your team wins, each member of the team will receive 1/5 of the overall grant.  
• Individuals are responsible for reporting the grant on personal income taxes.  
• Winners will receive an award within one month of the Open Data Challenge Weekend.  
• If you are one of the two winning teams, restrictions may apply. Receipt of an award is contingent upon meeting the milestones and grant contingencies.
• The first place winning team may decline the grant award if they so choose. The first place winning team has first right of refusal to the grant award. 

Milestone Criteria

• The receipt of the Final Grant Award is contingent upon fulfilling milestone requirements set forth by Open Data Delaware Challenge. The Delaware Open Data Challenge Criteria Review Group will determine if winning teams are meeting milestone criteria to qualify for the final grant award. 
  • Milestone 1 – Judged during Challenge Weekend in June 2017. 
  • Milestone 2 – Working Product/Full Implementation: 
• The Delaware Open Data Challenge Criteria Review Group will determine if the application meets the goal of full implementation using the following criteria:  
  • Meets the requirements that guided its design and development and follows the original prompt. 
  • Achieves the general result the stakeholders (i.e. the team, the non profit or other partners) desire. 
  • Is usable, stable, and performs functions within acceptable time.
  • Any data integration is complete and tested (must use at least one publicly available dataset from data.delaware.gov).
  • Has launched or is ready for a public launch (beta launch is permitted, as long as there is a plan to launch fully to the public post-beta).

Delaware Open Data Challenge Criteria Review Group

• The Government Information Center in the Delaware Department of State, Open Data Delaware, and Delaware Technology Forum will determine the membership of the Delaware Open Data Challenge Criteria Review Group.  
• The Delaware Open Data Challenge Criteria Review Group will determine if winning teams are meeting milestone criteria to qualify for the final grant award.

Other

• All programs associated with the Open Data Delaware Challenge are subject to all applicable United States federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
• By participating in the Open Data Delaware Challenge, you agree to any and all Open Data Delaware Challenge rules and procedures and understand and agree that the Judges’ decisions are final and binding on all matters related to the Open Data Delaware Challenge.
• You have no right, power, or authority to bind the Open Data Delaware Challenge, the Delaware Department of State, and the State of Delaware to the fulfillment of any condition, contract, or obligation or to create any liability binding on the Open Data Delaware Challenge, the Delaware Department of State, and the State of Delaware. 
• Winners may not be an employee or independent contractor of the Delaware Department of State or the State of Delaware.
•  All materials submitted to the Delaware Open Data Challenge must be in English.
• Delaware Open Data Challenge reserves the right to disqualify any entry that is offensive, as determined by the Delaware Open Data Challenge judges, in their sole discretion. Please ensure your entry is appropriate for all viewing audiences.
• Delaware Open Data Challenge reserves the right to assess your eligibility and compliance with these Official Participant Rules at any point. If Delaware Open Data Challenge requires any assistance in order to assess your compliance, you must promptly provide that assistance. If you do not provide the requested assistance in a timely manner, or if Delaware Open Data Challenge has reason to believe that you are not complying with the Official Participant Rules, you may be disqualified, in Delaware Open Data Challenge’s sole discretion.
• Delaware Open Data Challenge reserves the right to modify the terms of these Official Participant Rules at any time in its sole and exclusive discretion.

Great! I still have some questions about the Open Data Challenge.

How do I get involved? Do I pay anything?
We’d love to see you contribute on one of our teams. Participation is free, but please help us by registering in advance at the link above. Registering early helps us manage our resources. Signing up at the last minute is OK! But you still need to register.

How do I form a team?
After the problems are presented, you'll have the opportunity to join a team based on the problem that most interests you. A typical team is four to six people. Depending on the number of participants and the popularity of the ideas, multiple teams may address the same problem.

The most successful teams will have a diverse talent pool: developers, designers, community members, etc. Everyone should be able to bring a different skill to the table.

I can't code. I'm not a designer. I barely know what open data is. Can I still participate?
Of course! The Open Data Challenge is an inclusive event. Apart from any skill as a developer or designer, you have a place at the event. You'll have the chance to contribute to the ideation process, learn some new skills, or simply help with research. There are plenty of ways to be involved.

What is a hackathon? Isn’t hacking something that’s discouraged?
Don’t believe the hype! Hacking means pulling together different strands of knowledge to form an effective solution.  Come to the Open Data Challenge. You’ll meet diverse people who share your interests. And you might even discover some new skills.

I'm interested in the idea of open data. How can I stay involved beyond the Open Data Challenge?
You can join us at Open Data Delaware. We meet every Saturday at 10:00 am at the Brandywine Hundred Library for Code and Coffee.  Beyond that, we'll host a workshop, happy hour, or speaker event about once a month.  You're always welcome to join us!